Comments on: Episode 86 — Ya Big MOOC

By: Introducing Scott Silverman is Trying to Think « Scott Silverman is trying to think

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 04:15:18 +0000

[…] has been transforming liberal education more meaningfully than MOOCs. (Listen to this episode of Digital Campus to catch up on the MOOC […]

By: Digital Pedagogy Roundup – First Half of 2012 » Roger T. Whitson, Ph.D

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:22:16 +0000

[…] Campus Podcasts Digital Campus Episode 77: #FERPANUTS Digital Campus Episode 86: “Ya Big MOOC” Audrey Watters and Steve Haragdon’s […]

By: ds106 It’s Own Space - CogDogBlog

ds106 It’s Own Space - CogDogBlog — Mon, 28 May 2012 17:07:28 +0000

[…] webs about MOOCs but I was pleased to have caught the conversation at the Digital Campus podcast Ya Big MOOC where Dan Cohen, Mills Kelly, Amanda French, and guest Audrey Waters provided interesting […]

By: Amanda French

Amanda French — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:29:31 +0000

That’s a good point, Alan. Though I suppose I’d say that the content (factual, interpretive, critical) of a MOOC is not so much a defining factor in *whether* it’s a MOOC as to whether it’s a successful one. “Massive” could use some defining, but I’d say 1000+ qualifies; “open” is key, meaning anyone can sign up; “online” is pretty obvious, though I’m sure there are in-person study groups for some of these; and “course” actually does denote to my ear a coherent series rather than just, say, a collection of related educational links.

By: Alan Selig

Alan Selig — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:14:11 +0000

Your conversation about MOOCs seems to make clear that the term is simply to large to be useful. There are too many variables at play which will affect both the enjoyment and the value of participating in a MOOC. Is a particular MOOC a termporary gathering of interested persons within various social media? Is a MOOC a digital version of the Correspondence Course model? Is a MOOC located within a particular higher ed institution and intended primarily for that group? What are the rewards and incentives associated with the MOOC and what groups of potential students will they appeal to? Does the MOOC focus on introductory, factual data in a field or does it focus on higher levels of learning? Until we begin to include these additional defining pieces we won’t be very successful in developing any general assessments of MOOCs as a learning methodology.